Articles about grace for the good girl

We wore bathrobes stitched by my mother's own hand, terry cloth rough against our skin in navy blue and dark green. A white belt around the middle. We put towels on our heads, makeshift coverings with frayed edges. Then my brother and I marched both solemn and delighted into the living room. He Joseph and I Mary.
We'd take our places in front of ...

Are you ready for Christmas?
Almost everywhere I go, I hear these words.
While chatting after church.
While buying groceries at the store.
While sitting in the dentist’s chair.
Are you ready for Christmas?
Well, yes and no.
No, I don’t have every gift purchased and wrapped.
No, I don’t have every card licked and stamped.
But, ...

I have long been a fan of tradition and celebrating the seasons.
As much as I adore autumn, I love the changing of fall to winter – pulling out decorations to deck the halls on the outside, while realigning my heart to prepare Him room on the inside.
I’m fairly new to the practice of Advent; I love both the heritage of how it’s been done ...

When I was a little girl, my pastor said something that shook me to my core. I remember it as if it happened just yesterday. It was a casual comment, made in the midst of polite conversation as we all sat around one summer evening, eating peanut butter ice cream on the screened-in porch at our pastor's home.
I loved my pastor and his wife. They ...

When my husband and I were offered five days at an island resort in exchange for listening to a timeshare presentation, I never imagined it would lead to an epic anniversary trip a year in the making, or that my first experience flying standby would prove such a powerful compare-and-contrast lesson in God’s unfailing, unconditional love.
Last ...

“All the words of my mouth are righteous; none of them are deceptive or perverse.
All of them are clear to the perceptive, and right to those who discover knowledge.
Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.
For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can compare with it.”
Proverbs 8:8-11 ...

My heart began to race. Fire radiated from my chest, down my arms, and up my neck. Sweat beads rolled down my temples.
“No, no. Please, God, no,” I cried. I recognized immediately what was happening to me. “I can’t have a panic attack. Not now.”
I stepped out the back door of my home office hoping the early December Michigan air would cool ...

Being single during the holidays sometimes feels like a mess.
I'm a pretty confident, fun-loving gal who appreciates the life I have. But something happens during the holiday season -- my friend Kelley calls it "hyper-awareness" -- when my singleness just feels. IT FEELS. It's palpable in December moments in ways it never shows in April.
God ...

I stared at my black patent leather shoes, shiny next to the faded tile floor.
"Today, ask someone to be your friend," the pastor said during the children's sermon. "It will make your heart feel good to have a new friend."
So I asked her if she would be my friend. And she said no.
The sting of that six-year-old rejection still manifests in ...

I'll be the first to tell you, I am not the best at expressing gratitude.
In November 2013, I was working as a live-in nanny for my cousin, Kim. She's crafty beyond belief and had created a "Thankfulness Tree" for the kitchen table. In reality, it was a dead branch stuck in a pot with little construction paper leaves. Every morning, we would ...